Shipping automobiles



.1. McM-ULLEN 1,856,106

SHIPPING AUTOMOBILES Filed Nov. s, 1929 5 sheets-sheer 1 May 3, 1932.

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May 3, 1932. 1. MCMULLEN SHIPPING AUTOMOBILES Filed Nov. 8, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet. 2

ATTORNEY J. MCMULLEN May 3, 1932.

SHIPPING AUTOMOBILES QGGGOOMOOG. n oooooooooomeoowooo o \ooooo ooo. oo0o ooooocoooooooo \0@oOOOoo. O ooooooaoooooooo ATTORNEY Patented May 3, 1932 S i S PATE SHIPIPNG AU'TDMOBIBES Application filed November 8, 1929.

The present invention refers to the carrying,n of automobiles in freight cars of various kinds, either flat cars, gondola cars, or box cars, but preferably and usually the latter.

SL it leading object is to prevent damage to the czar cons `suction by the use of the means for securely fastening the automobiles in the car and allowing; thorn to be removed quickly and easily the end of 'the journey.

ln one well known method of loading, owing ,to the length oi the complet-olv asseinbled Y automobiles, as they are generally shipped, the cars are capable ot' carrying only :tour nioi'or cars arranged in a sinffio row, two being placed, one in each end or the car vwith the rear ond ot the automobile adjacent to the end et the car, and. said two einig mounted in inclined or haii decked positions with their ends at opposite ends of the car., Q0 While the other two of the four are placed end to end on all their i'our Wheels and with their hoods extenm'iing under the halt decked automobiles-1. '.here are many ways of loading; l only7 mention this one. lieiecoiore in the shipment of automobiles wav bez: cars it has been customary to mechanisms, often elaborate and "or supporting; the automobiles during sinpinont in such a :nanner that they ar 3U liz-miv held and prevented from movement either lonnitndinally or lateraliy with respect to the car; but suce. mechanisms usually involve the bolting, spiking' or nailing" ot various holdinpIl or clanpinp' devices to the door or sides oi? the car; all ot which nailed par ve to be dislodged when the autoo be released and removed from the car for delivery, usually t ing the door and "Wultino' in excessive damage to the car, 1U and n reati expe; .e in the wav of ro- 4 ,dnd successive shipments `with repeated nailing in the sainespot increases the damage.

si chief nini is to avoid injury to the curs 'which support and carry and this l acooinpiish in the present in nce by permanently providing novel clanipi appliances in the 'Hoor oi the car '-.vhzeh `spp.iances cooperate with temporary braces, rails, chool .r strap devices `and antonio; n.

Serial No. 405,654.

other dunnage, used to sustain the loaded automobiles in position, which appliances relnain more or less concealed inthe car'loor AHush therewith when not in use, but areaapable oi being` readily liftedinto an `active ,55 position for use, the paramount object being to save the car Construction froniinjury and avoid repair costs.

lilith these suggested objects in vien7 and inany others thatzmightube enumerated, ,my .60 invention may be said to Consi-st in the novel combination, construction, and arrangement oi parts, hereinafter described, illustrated inthe accompanying .drawings and `pointed out ,in .the claims hereto appended; itlbeing understood that various changesin the "forni, proportion, size and minor details diconstruction Within the scope ofthe claims, may be resorted to Without departingfrom the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of the y7.0 invention.

To more fully disclose niyvrnproveinents, reference isinade to ,the annexed drawings, in which:

Figure `,lis alongitudinal sectoneon .the line 1,1, O'Figure 2 of my improved means for shipping' automobiles.

Figure is ,a transverse section on. the 1in@ 2, 2, ofFigure. 1.

ll `i, ;ure 3 is aitopplan vieWofthe Car ioor `.30 equipped With .my improved clamping 1 devices.

Figure 41 is a detailed view showingt-hearrangement of the hold-down straps for "the leftfazile carrying-said Wheel andmy im '85 proved clamping means for holding .Msaid straps l nea-r `the floor.

Figure 5 :is a perspective V`View of agroup oit detached members.

Figure 6 isa section of the per".omtezd lower end of the clamping device, andshovvs'tfhe locking'pin or device .locked therein.

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional detail of the clamp holding plates and a fragment of the car floor to which they arefastened, said section being on line 7, 7, o`Figiire 8.

Figure Sis a detail plan View of afragment of the carloorand part of theclarn-p ingr devices.

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Figure 9 is a vertical section on the line 9, 9, of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a plan view of a modified form of clamping devices and its top plate on the floor.

Figure 11 is a sectional view of the same.

Figure 12 is a section on the line 12, 12, of Figure 14 of an alternative form of clamping mechanism, having clamps similar to those shown in Figures 10 and 11, but indicating a metallic plate connection whereby several clamps are permanently conjoined into a single unit; the same being in its raised and active position. V Y

Figure 13 is a plan view of the same show ing a pair of clamps and the plate connecting them closed down on the floor in their inactive position.

Figure 14 is a vertical sectional view on the line 14, 14, of Figure 12.

Figure 15 is a sectional view on the line 15-15, of Figure 16 of a still further modified form of clamping device and a floor rail with posts for carrying and loosely hinging it, the same clamp being shown in its raised and active position.

Figure 16 is a section of the same on the line 16, 16, of Figure 15.

Figure 17 is ak similar view of this modified form of clamp when closed down on the floor out of use.

Like characters of reference denote like parts throughout all the different figures of the drawings.

In the one form of loading which I have illustrated for explanatory purposes only and with no intention of being confined thereto, two automobiles shown in outline in dotted lines at A and B are placed in the one half 1 of the car, the other half which is not shown being similarly filled with two more automobiles. The automobile A is in the end of the car with its rear end adjacent to the end of the car. Each rear wheel A1 is held by a chock block 3. The automobile A is mounted in an inclined or half deck position and held there by means of a frame that I will shortly explain.

The automobile B is placed with its wheels B1 and B2 on the floor and with its hood under theV half decked automobile A and its wheels held by chock blocks, and the car anchored by hold-down straps or similar means. The lading of the automobiles may be arranged relatively toeachother in various ways, and the selection of a loading method may depend somewhat on the size and type of the automobile. Y

T"Vhen the front of an automobile, as A, is raised to occupy a half decked position, it is essential to have a strong frame or horse to hold it up. @ne kind that can be used comprisestwo doubly-inclined supports 16, 16, located in pairs on each side of the car, the same being inclined toward each other in an inverted ll-shape, the upper ends being' joined by a short horizontal tie 17 and providing at their top meeting point an angle that receives and holds the axle spindle at one end of the front axle 22. These supports 16 are also splayed outwardly from their top ends to the sides of the car 1 at the bottom.

With such an arrangement the lower ends of the supports or legs 16 of these supporting frames are quite closely adjacent to the side walls of the car. At this point the lower ends of these members 16 are nailed or otherwise securely fastened to the longitudinal beams, planks or strips 14 on the iioor of the car, see F ivures 1 and 2.

hock blocks 3 are used with the rear wheels A1 of the inclined car A, and with the wheels B1 and B2 of the horizontal car B. All these checks 3 are of the common thereover with their lower ends 19 secured by nails or bolts 2O to short rails or bars 15 that lie on the car floor 2 contiguous to the chocks 3, see Figure 3; and these bars or members 15 are secured to the car floor by my improved means.

At various points in the floor 2 I provide shallow recesses 41 in the upper surface thereof as shown in Figures 7 and 9, the said recesses having relatively deep por ions intermediate their ends. is shaped and configured to accommodate therein plate 5, having flat raised ends 10, which ends lie flush with iioor 2 and have perforations (Z, d, through which pass bolts 40 which also pass through floor 2 and securely hold the plate 5 in position in recess 41. Each plate 5 also has a slot 9 ext-ending between its flanges 10. Furtheron the underside of floor 2 opposite each plate 5 is a longer plate 7 having end perforations e, e, through which pass the same retaining bolts 40, said plates 7 having slots S directly opposite slots 9 in the top plates 5 and in communication therewith through vertical passages in the iioor 2, see Figures 5, T, 8, and 9.

Clamping plates 4, each having atop rightangled iange 6 perforated at a, a and ay body portion perforated at b, b for the passage of fastening means, pass through the respective slots in the plates 5 and 7 by which they are held in an upright position, extending above the car floor and can engage parts of the automobile supporting and bracing frames.

The plates 4 are provided near their lower ends which are below the lower plates 7 with perforations o, '0, that receive the ends of a Each of these recesses A In showing the use of a steel or metallic horizontal member secured to a. pair of clamps to form a single permanent unit to support a frame, I have for illustration only selected the modified clamp 24 having the hooked end 27 as shown in Figures 8 and 11, to combine with the perforated plate 81, as shown in Figures 12, 13, and 14, except that l make the hooked members 24 without a top flange 6, because there is no need of such a flange since the plate 24C is riveted to the plate 31, to which in turn the leg 16 or its equivalent is bolted or secured. Y

Then the members 24: are lifted into an operative position they will be vertical or inclined as the case may be and will hold the union or connecting foraminous plate 31 in the same upright position, as shown in Figure 14, so that a leg 16 or other part of the automobile carrying frame may be secured thereto by bolts or the like passing through a few of the holes 31a. The object of having a very numerous and liberal supply of holes 31a is so that the leg 16 may be easily attached thereto at any point or angle, thus making the attachment of the parts easy and the adjustment and connection thereof rapid and effective. After the use of this mechanism, and the disconnection of the plates 31 from the dunnage, the plates 31 will lie flat on the floor or slightly above the floor, as the projection of these plates slightly above the floor surface will not be objectionable in any way, while obviously the plates 24E will then fit back into the depressed parts of plates 23. This portion of the parts .is shown in Figure 13.

Still another alternative form of the invention which will be found very serviceable for many uses is portrayed in detail in Figures 15, 16, and 1T. 1n this modification 1 use a rail or rod 32 bent at each end to provide a right angled post 32a which passes through an opening in floor 2, the ends of posts 32a being screwthreaded and supplied with nuts 35, which are under floor 2, as indicated in Figure 15. rEhe rail is capable of being raised into its operative position, which is horizontal as shown in Figure 15 where the posts 32a are lifted up through the passage containing them but are prevented from going up too far by the nuts 35 or washers therewith striking against the under side of -floor 2. The raised position is also indicated in Figure 16. TWhen the device is not in use the rail 32 is dropped into a groove 3st in the floor, and the posts 32a drop down through their guiding passages, asseen in Figure 17. Carried on the rail 32 are one ormore movable clamping plates 33. ylfhey are foraminous and made in parallel sections riveted together, as 33 and 33a, there being a loop at one end bent around the rail 32, so that the plate may slide easily on rail 32 and also be hinged thereon by this loop, so that the plate is adjustable in many directions. This plate is riveted orbolted to leg 16 or any other part of the dunnage material, or two of the plates may be united by another plate which will be bolted to the frame material. When the plate 33 is folded down it will lie on floor 2 as in Figure 17.

l have thus sho-wn and described several forms that the invention may easily assume to adapt it for use in various locations so as to solve different problems, but these few forms do not exhaust the field of change, and I reserve the liberty of making such other changes as I desire within the scope of the claims.

1t will be noted that by the use of my permanent clamps that engage temporary and transient holding members 1 not only preserve the car structure from injury and demolition through rough handling, but I also provide a much more effective anchoring of the frames and blocks to the car floor. When chocks, as 3, and straps, as 18, and frames with legs, as 16, have their lower ends spiked or nailed to the floor, a strong upward pull on these parts, or an excessive and extreme vibration of the car, may pull the nails from the floor, and cause the destruction or great damage to the dislodged automobiles. When however, clamps or straps which stand alonglside of the checks and frames vertically or substantially so and are spiked thereto by spikes that enter the wooden members, the spikes are in sheer and cannot be pulled out or loosened by any strain thereon, since such strains as exist are not in the right direction to affect them, and hence the result with these clamps is far. more satisfactory.

VJ hat I claim, is

1. The hereindescribed means for shipping automobiles without injury to the shipping car, which consists in the combination with a car Hoor, of a plurality of slotted plates set therein flush with the surface of the floor, and a movable member passing loosely through each of said plates and adapted to be lifted from a concealed flush position in the plate to an upright active position, and supports for the automobiles to which the aforesaid movable members when upright are spiked to hold the automobiles from lateral and endwise jarring out of place, each movable member being flanged at the top and perforated on top and side for spikes or nails.

2. T he hereindescribed means for shipping automobiles without injury to the car containing them, which consists in the combination with a car iioor, of a plurality of plates set therein provided with slots, a movable clamp member in each slot and adapted to occupy an upright active position at times, means for keeping the memberin the slot, and supporting means for the automobiles, to which the aforesaid upright movable members are secured to hold the automobiles in iiired positions, together with means for securing;- said movable members to 'temporary parts ot' the trames and other elements that support the automobiles in position in the Cal".

l. 'the liereindescribed means -tor shipping automobiles without injury to the car in Vwhich they are shipped, which consist in the oombinatioi'i with a car floor, of a plurality oi slotted plates set in the top ot the ioor at a f )lurality of points, a set of slotted plates below them on the bottom ot the itloor, a mem ber in each pui r ot slotted platos end having a tlanged upper end, said members being adiipted to be lifted vertically from a concealed iiush position in the floor to an upright service position, and beams, md braces for the automobil-s, which ere engaged by the lit-'ted members, and to which said members are spiked to hold the supported automobiles from lateral or eiidwise displacement.

1li. lhe liercindeseribed means :for supporting aiitoniobiles in cars Without injury to tloors oit seid cars, which consists in the combination with the tloor., of slotted plates :tast thereon, movable clamping members baring; a booked end and connected to each of said plates in tbe slot thereof and adapted to be lifted from a tinsli position in the plate to on upright active posit-ion, choclrs for automobile 'Wheels to which said upright members are fastened, and bars forming1 portions ot automobile carrying frames, to Which bars u pri ght menibers are fastened, all to prevent lateral and endwise jar and dislocation of the automobiles While in transit.

o. in e device ot the class described, the combination With the `tloor, of a plate therein. a member movably connected to said plate and adapted to be lifted into an upright position arbore the floor, a toraminous plate secured to said movable member, and a temporary merchandise support to which the toraminous plate is detachably connected when the device is in service position.

6. ln a derice of the class described, the combination with the floor, of plates therein, a movable member connected to each plate, :md a union member secured to two or more movable members, together With automobile temporary.' srpportinp,Y means, to which the Vunion member is rigidly fastened When the movable members are lifted from floor position to service position.

ln testimony whereoie I hereunto aiiix my signature.

JOHN MCMULLEN. 

